Why It's Not A Good Idea To Bet On Your Boss's Love Life
by Randomblackberry
Summary: Apollo didn't know how he managed to get roped into this, sitting on a sofa betting on who Phoenix Wright would date, but he knew one thing. He wanted out. Still, this journey could end up yielding some answers about himself, his friends, and his family.


**Um, so this is a bit crappy, but I've been doing this for weeks, and just had to post it /: Hope you guys enjoy! :D**

"I think Herr Edgeworth." Klavier claimed, twirling his hair absentmindedly.

"They have this chemistry. Akin to mine and Herr Forehead's, ja?"

The prosecutor's free arm was draped over Apollo's shoulders, succeeding in making the younger man feel somewhat claustrophobic. Apollo shrugged the arm off of him and glared at Klavier.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I agree." Blackquill cut in suddenly. "They have an inexplainable bond with one another, like a man, bound to his blade."

"You think?" Trucy piped up. "But then... I'll have two daddies!"

For perhaps the thirtieth time, Apollo wondered why on earth he was here. Phoenix Wright was out, and somehow the agency had been inhabited by their dear legal friends.

Apollo was sulking on the sofa, with Klavier on one side, and Athena on the other. Ema Skye balanced precariously on the armrest, housing a similar expression to Apollo's. Simon Blackquill stood alert and ready, Taka preening on his shoulder, whilst Trucy sat in the remaining armchair, flashing a dazzling smile.

"Y'know," Ema began in a bored manner, lifting a snackoo up to her mouth. "I think Mr Wright might have an eye on somebody else."

Everyone's gaze zeroed onto the detective.

"Maya Fey." she stated, and then began her munching.

"Fraülein Fey?" Klavier murmured. "I suppose I could see that. He does seem quite fond of her."

"But um. Isn't she like his dead boss's younger sister?" Apollo spoke up, and then flinched underneath everyone's accusing gaze.

Seriously, was he the only one that found a problem with that?

"Then Wright-dono is caring for the kin of his deceased mentor. It is an honourable thing to do." Blackquill said gruffly, but didn't elaborate.

Like how you cared for Athena when Metis died, Apollo thought, but didn't say.

"Still, I always figured that they had more of a sibling relationship." Athena pondered. "Like you and Apollo, Trucy."

Ema shrugged. "They seem to have grown closer lately. Don't ask me why."

Athena slung one leg over the other. "What about Thalassa?"

"Mommy?" Trucy asked, eyes wide. "You think Daddy's going to marry Mommy?"

Athena fiddled with Widget. "It would make sense, wouldn't it? She's your mother after all. And I can feel happiness from both of them when they talk about you."

Apollo grimaced at the mention of Thalassa Grammarye. A few weeks ago the Borginian singer Lamoir had revealed herself to be Trucy's mother. He didn't trust her very much. She always seemed to be tense around him, like she had a secret to hide.

"I like mommy." Trucy decided. "But I don't want Daddy marrying her just because of me.."

"It's Herr Wright's choice, obviously. But my money's personally on him and Herr Edgeworth getting together." Klavier grinned, a predator's smirk. "Ten bucks in, ja?"

Athena's eyes flared at the challenge. "I'm on it! I predict Phoenix Wright will date Thalassa Grammarye!"

Blackquill chuckled. "How naîve, Athena. The glimmerous fop is correct. Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth is Wright-dono's most ideal mate."

"Well Apollo's with me, right?" Athena retorted, over Klavier's, "Fraülein Detective, have you been teaching our samurai words?"

Apollo blinked. "Uh. Can I bet zero dollars that Phoenix Wright won't get together with anyone?"

Noises and gestures of dissension. Pfft, even Taka seemed to be shaking his head.

"Daddy's got to settle down eventually, Polly! He's gonna get all old and wrinkly soon!" Trucy exclaimed.

"He's only in his thirties." Apollo replied, mortified. "And should we really be having this conversation?"

Ema threw a snackoo at him. "I think Maya and Phoenix would go together well. I'm pooling in."

"Well I think-" Trucy began.

"Please..." Apollo drifted off helplessly. "Stop the seventeen year old from gambling."

"Hmm. Mommy, Uncle Miles, or Aunt Maya..."

Apollo burrowed his head in his hands, and resisted the incredible urge to just cry.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

Betting was bad enough. Downright spying on his boss's dates was even worse.

"We shouldn't be here." Apollo announced for the thousandth time.

Athena elbowed him violently in the side, prompting a squeak to escape him.

"Shh!" she commanded. "We're not going to find out if he's dating Trucy's mum if you're talking!"

Apollo sighed, and slumped in his seat. They were in People Park, sitting on a park bench in a hopefully inconspicuous manner. Phoenix Wright was with Thalassa Grammarye, by a giant oak tree that obscured his employees view.

"Well she certainly took it well." Phoenix said.

"They must be talking about Trucy." Athena whispered to him, excited.

"I thought you were the one who said that we shouldn't be talking." Apollo grumbled, and instantly regretted it thanks to the elbow to his side.

"Yes. I am glad." Thalassa responded, voice clearly joyful.

"It's good for her. To have a mother as well as a father." Phoenix mused, but there was a certain tenseness there as well.

"Yes..." Thalassa agreed, but didn't elaborate.

Athena's hand went up to Widget.

"Huh. It seems like there's some discord." she whispered, but this time it was Apollo who shushed her.

"He deserves to know." Phoenix said firmly. "You should have just told him with Trucy."

Athena gasped slightly. "He's... He's angry! Who is he talking about?"

"I'm sorry. I lost my nerve. Trucy will forgive me... But I abandoned him Mr Wright. I don't know if he'll forgive me." Thalassa admitted.

"That doesn't matter. What matters is he knows the truth."

"Of course Mr Wright. I'll tell him as soon as possible."

"Do."

They moved them, leaving the oak tree. Athena quickly ripped her gaze away as they walked past, even though there was little chance of either recognising them in their street clothes.

Apollo risked a glance at them, and his eyes fell on Thalassa's wrist.

Onto the gold bracelet that lay there. Large, hanging off her skinny arm. Like his.

...Like his.

He instantly began to wrack his brain, wondering why he had not noticed this before. He had only met with Thalassa on a couple of occasions, but she had always been wearing long sleeved clothing that would obscure the bracelet. And coming to think of it, she seemed to clutch her wrist when she was lying. Which meant...

Apollo felt bile rise in his throat. He was being dramatic. The bracelets were probably just common little trinkets. There was no way that he was even remotely related to the Gramaryes. This was a massive was no way that-

"Apollo?" Athena asked, a worried expression on her face.

Huh, Thalassa and Phoenix had already disappeared from sight.

"Oh, sorry. Just zoned out for a bit. I'm fine." Apollo lied, turning away.

Athena frowned. "Are you sure? I'm hearing some discord."

Apollo shook his head, inwardly cursing her hearing. "Yeah, I'm good, besides, we should be getting back to the office before Mr Wright gets back and wonders why the toilet hasn't been cleaned."

That seemed to be motivation enough for Athena to forget about the discord, and run for her life.

-/-/-/-/

How... How had he gotten roped into this again?

"Stop squirming, Justice, and stay quiet."

Apollo glared pitifully at Ema, who was squished up next to him in the bushes. On his other side, was one of Phoenix's old friends, Pearl, who seemed way too excited about this.

From the bushes they had a clear view of the burger joint across the street, where Maya and Phoenix were supposed to be meeting after Maya's arrival from Kurain.

It had only been a day since listening in on Thalassa and Phoenix's conversation, and Apollo had not gotten nearly enough time to dwell on its meaning. It still worried him, tickled at the edges of his brain, but he forced himself to push it out of his thoughts for now.

He had more important things to worry about.

Or less important, depending how you thought about it.

Nevertheless, he was there, doing something he was incredibly uncomfortable with doing. Being a neutral party in this bet (war) seemed to make him some kind of judge, making him have to be dragged around to place to place to deem which person Mr Wright would date.

Crazy.

He opened his mouth to voice his thoughts, but a shove from Ema, and a point to the burger joint window, where Maya and Phoenix sat with their meals, was enough to shut him up.

"Oh man! I missed these! I've gone months without tasting burgers, Nick, months!" her voice was slightly muffled because of the glass, but Maya spoke loudly enough to be heard clearly.

Phoenix chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "Honestly, I don't know how you managed. You used to eat burgers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

Maya didn't bother swallowing before speaking again. "And now that I'm back, I plan to do that again!"

"Well, this burger place has been going on for years. I think the whole staff knows you by now." Phoenix grinned. "You can just go in by yourself and get the same table, same meal without asking, seconds included."

Maya swallowed, and paused before taking another bite. "It's not as fun alone. It's lonely without you or sis, Nick! This used to be like our tradition!"

Ema elbowed Apollo sharply in the ribs. At the same time, Pearl let out a sound of joy, but clamped her hand over her face before it could properly escape.

Maya took a final bite, and pushed back her plate. "Finished!" she chirped.

Phoenix stared at the crumbs left on her plate. "Already? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Well, shall we go? I'm not really hungry, we could go on a walk or-"

"Nick!" Maya screeched loudly, scaring the crap out of Apollo and the other spies.

"M-Maya?" Phoenix responded, clearly surprised by her outburst.

"What do you think you're doing? I only had one measly burger! One! C'mon Nick, you know my stomach can't be satisfied with that! Another one! But make it jumbo size!"

Phoenix smiled tiredly at her. "Maya, I'm pretty sure what you just devoured was jumbo size."

Maya wrinkled her nose. "That? That was tiny! Minuscule! Make it Xtra Jumbo size!"

Phoenix laughed a little. "Fine, Maya. We'll get a giant burger for you."

They disappeared from sight, presumably to order a giant burger.

Apollo glanced at his comrades.

"I...I don't think there's anything there." he admitted.

"You're not looking hard enough!" Pearl insisted. "There's love! I can see it!"

Ema nodded slowly. "It's hard to see, but scientifically speaking, with a magnifying glass it becomes obvious. He's willing-"

"There's a difference between love and really close friendship or family," Apollo insisted. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do."

Ema frowned. "What's up with you, Apollo? You're acting really stiff, even more so than usual."

Apollo bit back a sarcastic response and instead shrugged. "I'm just wondering why we're doing this. Can't Mr Wright just choose whoever he wants to be with, without you guys going crazy?"

Ema shrugged. "The fop challenged me, and I'm not one to back down from a challenge."

"He didn't...ugh, you guys are taking this way too seriously," Apollo moaned. "Can we just go? If they end up getting together you can laugh at my face later, but I highly doubt it."

Pearl looked incredibly insulted. "In all fairness Mr Apollo, sir, you're being a big fat meany!"

Ouch. Apollo was used to being told off by teenagers, but that didn't make it any easier

"Sorry, I'm just stressed." he tried to smile, but damn, even that was hard.

Ema looked slightly concerned. "Why? What's up?"

Apollo considered voicing his thoughts about Thalassa Grammarye, but decided against it. Him and Ema weren't that close, and he barely knew Pearl at all.

"This," he decided on instead. "You guys are all insane."

He should've made sure that Ema's hand wasn't deep in a bag of snackoos before speaking.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

It would be an understatement to say that Apollo was incredibly uncomfortable with his current situation.

"Hold still, Justice-dono," Simon Blackquill hissed. "You will give away our position if you fidget needlessly."

Slightly petrified, (he still feared Simon Blackquill even after half a year), Apollo managed to speak. "It would be easier if your bird wasn't seated directly on my head."

Simon frowned, as if Apollo had directly insulted him. "Taka is our lookout. He will notify us if our plan goes awry."

Apollo grimaced. "Speaking of plans, what is our plan exactly? I think I'm..uh.. I'm missing something."

"Ach! Herr Forehead! This is what we call improvisation, ja?" and yes, that was Klavier Gavin on the other side of him, looking as glimmerous as ever, even when hiding in a bush outside the Chief Prosecutor's window.

The three of them, were spying on their bosses. Their bosses. Apollo had felt uneasy the two times he had spied on Phoenix Wright, but spying on him and the current Chief Prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth, together, was sort of a death wish.

So yeah, it was definitely an understatement to say he was uncomfortable with his current situation.

He was about to tell Klavier about how terrible he was at improv, when a noise from Taka averted their eyes to the window, where Edgeworth was working.

"I heard that Herr Edgeworth was meeting Herr Wright today," Klavier stated, and sure enough, there was a light knock on the door that Apollo recognised as his boss's.

Like kids watching a movie at a slumber party, they all shushed each other, before focusing on the scene in front of them.

Edgeworth opened the door, and Mr Wright stood behind it, in his normal work clothes, with an abnormally large smile on his face.

"Wright." Edgeworth said, a hint of the same smile on his face.

"Edgeworth." Phoenix replied, and stepped inside the office.

"I happen to be working right now." Edgeworth said, seating himself again. "My apologies."

Phoenix looked put out. "Seriously? I thought we were going to get some time to spend together today. You've been so busy lately."

Edgeworth sighed. "With such a big prosecutor shortage, we all have to shoulder a bit more work at this time."

"Ah." Phoenix's face fell. "I'm sorry. Did you...did you finally let the Paynes go?"

"I wish," Edgeworth replied. "But with so few prosecutors, I couldn't. I wish I did now."

Blackquill and Klavier wore equal expressions of distaste, and Apollo felt a moment of sympathy for them having to work with two royal Paynes all the time.

"They're bastards." Phoenix said dismissively. "And more trouble than they're worth, really."

"And you would know?" Edgeworth asked, somewhat sarcastically, and then shook his head. "Forgive me. I am somewhat stressed."

Phoenix smiled sympathetically. "I know, it's okay, Edgeworth. But you should take a break every now and then. Hey, did you know Maya came back yesterday?"

Edgeworth raised an eyebrow. "No actually, I was not aware. I presume she's already digested a million burgers?"

Phoenix laughed. "More like a billion. But hey, she wants to see you too. We should all go out tomorrow together."

Edgeworth chuckled slightly. "I'll check my schedule."

"We could bring the whole gang. You could even invite Euro Rocker and Mr Convict along as well. Apollo and Athena are very fond of them,"

"Their names are Klavier Gavin and Simon Blackquill, Wright. They haven't been rock stars or convicts for quite some time now." Edgeworth reprimanded. "But yes, that sounds like a good idea. I suppose eight tomorrow would suit you and your subordinates?"

Phoenix paused, a thousand thoughts seeming to swirl inside of his head. "Actually... Apollo and Trucy are occupied at that time."

Klavier looked at Apollo sharply. "You are?"

To which Apollo responded with "I am?"

Edgeworth raised an eyebrow delicately. "Oh. Is one of Trucy's shows on tomorrow?"

Phoenix laughed. "Not quite. But I suppose it'll be a bit like a Grammarye family reunion. I was talking to Thalassa the other day, and we agreed to tell Apollo together. We'll have Truce around too, he'll probably take it better with her. I mean they act like brother and sister already. They're inseparable. I think...I think they'll be pleased."

"Ah. Well it's been almost two years. I was under the impression that you had told them both already," Edgeworth's expression was one of disapproval.

Meanwhile Simon and Klavier were staring at Apollo as if he was some kind of alien.

Phoenix held up his hands in surrender. "It's not my thing to tell. They're her kids, not mine."

 _They're her kids._

Apollo nearly fell over with surprise. If it weren't for Klavier's strong hands supporting him, he probably would've smacked into a prickle bush and blown their cover.

"Easy there, liebe," Klavier soothed, rubbing his hands in circles on his back.

Simon, perhaps feeling slightly sorry for the poor attorney, recalled his hawk from Apollo's head. (Only to send it on to Klavier's instead, but it was the thought that counted.)

Apollo was having significant trouble breathing.

After hearing Thalassa and Phoenix talk, he had suspected, he had wondered, but to entertain a thought like that was ridiculous, because it was obviously not true.

Except it was.

The sound of Phoenix breaking the silence put their eyes back on the scene in front of them.

"Maybe the day after tomorrow?" Phoenix mused, and then smiled. "Anyways, I know you're busy, but are we still up for lunch today?"

"Very well. I just need to talk to Gavin and Blackquill quickly before we leave." Edgeworth began to make his way to the door, and subsequently, to Klavier and Blackquill's adjacent offices.

Klavier leapt to his feet, scaring Taka off of his head, and prompting a death glare from the bird's owner.

"Herr Forehead! I'm afraid we have to go! Herr Edgeworth could arrive-"

"Calm yourself and set a steady pace," Blackquill scolded, a fair bit calmer than his co-worker. "It would do one no good to-"

"Ja, ja, I get it. But I swear Herr Edgeworth is outside your office right now." Klavier hissed, up and moving.

Blackquill paused, and then perhaps using his samurai senses, deduced that what Klavier was saying was indeed correct.

"...The fop is right. Apologies for the rushed goodbye Justice-dono, and do not worry to much about your newly found birthright. The Grammaryes are a strong clan that your kind belong in." Blackquill smiled slightly, before bee lining in the direction of the door.

Apollo felt that somehow more shocking than the news of his true heritage, was Blackquill encouraging him and supporting him.

"The samurai's words ring true, ja? Your mother being Thalassa changes nothing, really. Although, now that I know that she used to be Lamiroir..." Klavier smirked. "I'd like to check your singing voice out sometime!"

"Please," Apollo moaned half heartedly. "Don't." but his friend and rival was already gone.

Apollo didn't hang around. He left, practically raced out of the prosecutor's office's car park, and back to his apartment. He didn't think he could face the Wright Anything Agency at that moment in time.

Unbeknownst to him in his haste to get away, Phoenix was watching Apollo as he left the scene.

He sighed, in a rare display of seriousness.

"When," he wondered aloud. "Will he discover that family doesn't always have to be connected by blood?"

-/-/-/-/-/-/

The tension could be cut with a knife.

Trucy, bless her, Trucy didn't know, and was treating this like another spy on her dad's love life, except she was involved, and could ask all the questions she wanted.

It didn't seem suspicious. Athena wasn't there, but she had made reservations at a restaurant with Simon, so it wasn't particularly strange.

It was just Apollo, Trucy, Phoenix and Thalassa.

Apollo wanted to die inside.

The logical part of his brain told him to suck it up, ignore the elephant in the room. Except the elephant was invisible and intangible for everyone except for him.

Ignore it, he told himself, ignore it, and focus on the fact that they were eating somewhere that wasn't Eldoon's, and actually half decent.

Don't focus on Thalassa, as she lifted her fork and knife to cut her steak, her sleeve riding up, a flash of gold glinting against her skin, before she moved her arm again, and it was covered.

His perceiving gaze zeroed in on how her fingers itched to reach towards her bracelet, and Apollo was sure she could probably see his same tic.

"So, um," Apollo began. "What's the occasion?"

Thalassa paused, a forkful of steak halfway towards her mouth. She put the fork back down on her plate and smiled, but the expression was strained.

Phoenix shared a quick glance with her, and they both nodded subtly to each other.

"It's..." Thalassa pulled back her sleeve again, allowing Apollo to view the bracelet that was undoubtedly identical to his. "I used to have two of these bracelets. But I gave one to my son before I placed him on the steps of the orphanage."

Trucy, who hadn't been paying particularly close attention, looked at her sharply. "What did you say? Your son?" and then her eyes fell upon the bracelet. "You mean... Apollo?"

Thalassa nodded. "He is your brother. Your half brother, Apollo your father died in a tragic accident."

Of course he did, Apollo though grimly, and nodded. "Okay."

Thalassa paused. "O-Okay? Is that all you have to say about it?"

"What do you want me to say about it?" Apollo asked, viciously cutting into his meat. "That I'm happy? Do you want me to call you mom now? Because I'm pretty sure that's not how it works."

Thalassa shook her head. "No. No. Say...say whatever you want to say."

Truly glanced at Apollo, her eyes looking up at him with worry. "P-Polly? Aren't you happy?"

Apollo glanced at her, a fake smile forming on his face. "Yeah-"

"Don't do that, Apollo." Trucy interrupted him, staring at his eyes. "You know that won't work on us."

"It's just a lot to take in," Apollo decided on, avoiding Trucy's gaze.

"I thought you already knew," Phoenix said casually, and Apollo's gaze shot towards him.

"What?"

"Y'know, you and Gavin and Blackquill." Phoenix nonchalantly cut into his food, not even meeting Apollo's glare.

"You... You saw us? Apollo echoed.

"The hawk isn't exactly subtle," Phoenix admitted. "Was I supposed to think it was an ordinary thrush and just ignore it? And then there's the fact that Prosecutor Gavin practically glimmers, no matter where he is."

Apollo could feel a blush forming on his cheeks. "...I...I'm sorry."

"And the other day, when I was hanging out with Maya... Snackoos make an awfully large crunching noise, not terribly good for undercover investigation." Phoenix smiled slightly. "Might wanna pass that one on to Ema."

"R-right." Apollo said sheepishly, momentarily forgetting his resentment. "Uh, sure."

"You knew about the bet, daddy?" Trucy exclaimed.

Phoenix's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What bet?"

Aww shit.

"Nothing," Apollo cut in, ignoring his boss's pointed look. "If you saw me, why didn't you say anything?"

Phoenix gave the two of them a look, a 'we will talk about this later look' and then answered Apollo's question. "Well you ran off pretty damn quickly last time,"

Apollo stared at the ground, embarrassed that Phoenix had seen him leave in that state.

"I'm sorry if this is difficult for you-" Thalassa began, staring at him worriedly.

"No, it's okay." Apollo interrupted her, and was surprised to find that he was telling the truth. "It's okay."

Thalassa's hand reached for her bracelet and then stopped, perhaps reaching the same conclusion. "Are you sure?"

"You're not... You're not really my mother," Apollo began, and although her form doesn't appear to waver, he can perceive the hurt look in her eyes. "Mothers are supposed to be there for all the important things in a child's life. You...you weren't. But...but that's okay. You weren't there for me, and I'm not going to start calling you mom or anything, but I don't hate you." Apollo met her gaze. "Is...Is that all right?"

Thalassa looked troubled for a moment, and then she broke into a smile. "That's...that's okay. You're right. I...I wasn't there for you. I've had amnesia for awhile, and then there was the matter of my sight...but that was no excuse not to try and get in touch with you the last year or so. I'm not trying to be a paternal figure to you, but I hope we can spend some time together to make up for what we missed, and maybe, maybe you can forgive me?"

Apollo bit his lip, thoughts battle inside of his head before settling on the one identifiable truth.

"I already have."

Trucy looked up at him, grin emblazoned on her face.

He matched it perfectly.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

He felt oddly tranquil and at peace, like all of his problems had evaporated into nothingness. Not true, not true by a long shot, but by facing his worry, his fear, he felt all the better for it.

He should have confronted Mr Wright from the start. He probably would've done, if Clay had been there, pushing him on. 'You're all about the truth, right? Truth and Justice! So what's stopping you from pursuing it here?'

Apollo felt a little crack pierce his reverie at the memory of his friend, and how he never properly met his biological family.

There was no time for him to dwell in depressing thoughts however, as his phone buzzed insistently. He opened it to find a plethora of texts (When had they arrived?) from the members of their operation.

Athena: OHMYGOD I HEARD THE NEWS FROM MR W. TRUCY'S YOUR SIS? U 2 R SO CUTE! :DD

Apollo began to thumb out a reply, but surprisingly enough another beep stopped him.

Pearl: Congratulations Mr Apollo on the discovery of your newfound family! Don't let that deter you from your romantic life! You and Ms Cykes have a wedding to prepare for!

Apollo frowned a little at the second one. That was...that was a little weird. He and Athena weren't even...

Ema: Should've figured it out sooner, honestly. You guys look practically like twins, damn it. Well good for you, I guess. I'd like to talk to Ms Gramarrye soon if it can be arranged. I'd want to find out how she survived a bullet shot right through her head.

Apollo sighed fondly. A scientist to the bitter end.

Klavier: Ach, I can't exactly say it's a surprise, ja? We did know in advance ;) in case u were concerned about me and Samurai, Edgeworth gave us a right giving out 2. I think he heard us, ja? Maybe we should lay off on the spying.. (Until next week, that is :D)

Apollo snorted at his courtroom rival's ridiculousness.

Blackquill: I heard that you were formally introduced to your new family. May this new clan of yours be one you are worthy of standing in, and likewise may they be worthy of having you.

Apollo squinted, analysing the text from every angle. Was that a compliment?

Trucy: I dun knu wut xactly yur thinking or whther ur happy bout dis, but I rrly glad that yur my bro. Now u have 2 hlp me wth all my mgic tricks tho!

Apollo stared at the text for a minute, and then sent a dignified response.

Apollo: I know illegible text speak is all the rage amongst your age, but you'll never pass your English exam at this rate -_-

Apollo had just hit the send button before a new message came in, this one from his boss.

Mr Wright: Hey there, Apollo. I heard about the bet thing from Trucy, and I'd like to introduce you to a new member of the Wright Anything Agency 2moro! Bring the gang over, I think they'll like the news.

Apollo smiled, from the texts and the lightness in his heart, as he tapped out responses and invites, chatting with his friends and family until the moon reached its highest point in the sky.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

"How did you know about the bet, Mr Wright?" Ema asked warily, hand for once outside the snackoo bag.

Trucy looked slightly embarrassed, quivering on the couch. "I may have let it slip, but does it really matter? We get to find out who now!"

Pearl smiled sweetly. "I can't wait to discover that Mr Nick is still loyal to Mystic Maya!"

Athena shook her head. "You haven't been paying any attention, Pearl. Ms Grammarye is the woman. She's Apollo's mother, remember?"

Klavier looked like he wanted to say something to do with Edgeworth, but a glare from a hopelessly uncomfortable looking Blackquill stopped him mid word.

"So...did you say this bet was about who I was dating?" Phoenix asked, leaning awkwardly against the doorway,

There were a series of nods.

"Huh, okay then," Phoenix nodded. "Then...then I guess Apollo wins."

A chorus of "What's?" fell across the room, and he didn't bother waiting for silence to continue.

"Apollo said I wouldn't date anyone, right? He was right." Phoenix shrugged.

"But didn't you say you were bringing a new member into the Wright Anything Agency?" Athena questioned suspiciously.

Phoenix disappeared into the hall and then reappeared, dragging something behind him.

"Yeah, I did. I felt that one person in particular was...lonely. So I used my matchmaking skills..."

Phoenix moved out of the way, revealing...

A plant. A potted plant.

"Charley's new best friend!" he announced, grinning widely.

"A plant." Blackquill recited dryly. "That is the cause of all this hulaboo?"

The older man didn't falter. "I was thinking we could name it Barney."

"Going to paint it purple too, Herr Wright?"

"This is such a let down... My scientific examinations were spot on! This never should've happened!"

"Um, Apollo? I'm not sure if I have the money for the bet... Don't suppose I can borrow some from your wallet..."

"What? Athena, its for me anyways! What would stealing my wallet do?"

"Ms Athena, don't rob Mr Apollo!"

"That's not it!"

"...I don't have any money either..."

"That's why you shouldn't bet at age 17, Trucy!"

"Looks like I'll just have to pull some out of my magic panties!"

"What? Trucy no-"

"Stop your idiotic squabbling, it's giving me a headache."

"I'll drink to that."

"At a bar? With your favourite glamorous prosecutor?"

"Who? Edgeworth?"

"Detective Skye? Wait, do you have the-"

"Eww! Shut up, Cykes. Like you know anything."

"Say that to my psychology degree."

"Pfft, psychology isn't even a real science."

"Want to say that to my fists instead?"

"Hey no fighting, kids. I'm sure our new plant won't end up taking all of the attention."

"THATS NOT IT!"

It was crazy, it was mayhem, it was hectic.

But those were just the signs of a functioning, beautiful family.

 **I sincerely hope you enjoyed this crazy rushed story. Please review if you liked it! ?**


End file.
